“A modern twist on an medieval technique” Richmond Lewis’s recent egg tempera paintings evoke a sense of animation through interwoven shapes, delicate line, and richly complex color
(Long Island, NY) The Adelphi University Exhibitions Program is excited to announce our first exhibit for the Fall 2015 semester entitled, Paintings by Richmond Lewis. Lewis’ art has gone through various phases and styles throughout her career, and draws upon numerous traditions of art from around the world. This series of works in egg tempera will be on view from August 11 through September 22, 2015 in the Ruth S. Harley University Center Gallery. There will be an artist reception on September 15 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. All are welcome.
Egg tempera is a technique that dates back centuries. Ground pigments are mixed with egg yolk and thinned with water to make a fast-drying medium. Through vivid colors and dramatic patterns and compositions, Lewis has taken a medium known primarily from medieval religious painting and turned it into something truly contemporary. Her elegant designs create a sense of life, motion, and emotion.
Adelphi University announces their first exhibit for the Fall 2015 semester entitled “Paintings by Richmond Lewis.” Photo Credit: Adelphi University.
Richmond Lewis was born in Tokyo and spent her early years in Japan. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with the top painting honor, the Florence Lief Prize. In the 1980s and ’90s she exhibited her oil paintings and ink drawings in galleries in Soho and the East Village. In the late 1990s, Lewis took a hiatus from exhibiting, during which she studied traditional water-based techniques, including Japanese woodblock printing, Russian icon-writing, and Tibetan thangka painting. Since 2006 she has been working in egg tempera. What makes these works so striking are the modern twists that she takes to make these techniques her own.
Lewis writes in her artist’s statement:
“I like to think of the shapes in my paintings as animate—reaching, pushing, or growing against constraints, and coexisting with other interwoven to form the surface of the painting.”
The Ruth S. Harley University Center Gallery is open daily, from 11:00am to 5:00pm. To learn more about the artists and view glimpses of the exhibition, please visit art-galleries.adelphi.edu. Like us on our ‘Adelphi University Galleries’ Facebook page or find us on Twitter at @AUGalleries.
